Lepas L6 Signature 2026 Review

Priced at $47,990 before on-road costs, the sole Lepas L6 Signature model grade is as easy to understand as current automotive buying gets.

It’s more expensive than direct mid-size SUV contemporaries like Geely EX5 (from $41,990) and BYD Atto 3 (from $41,990), but significantly more affordable than established competition like the Hyundai Elexio (from $58,990) and Kia EV5 (from $56,770).

The standard equipment list for the family SUV is long – 19-inch wheels with Kumho tyres, electric side mirrors, acoustic glass, LED exterior lighting, automatic wipers, a refrigerated console bin, dual-zone climate control, rear privacy glass, electric tailgate and a panoramic sunroof.

Synthetic leather trim and power adjustable front seats with heating and cooling flesh out the specification list. Five exterior colours are available from launch and if you get in early, you get premium paint for free, as well as a free home charger.

The driver gets a clear, 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster and the centre point of the dash fascia is the whopping 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, mounted in portrait orientation to mimic the way you’d hold your smartphone to undertake most tasks.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard and CarPlay worked well for us on test. The eight-speaker, Sony-branded audio system is a meaty one and sounds excellent even with the volume cranked up.

Forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning and prevention, rear-cross traffic alerts and lane centering are part of the electronic safety aids.

Driver monitoring, door open warning and blind-spot detection are all standard as well and Chery has tuned the ADAS for local conditions and driving to attempt to make it not as intrusive as some.

At launch, there is no ANCAP crash rating, but Lepas told us it will be tested before the end of 2026.

The Lepas L6 is front-wheel-drive, with a single 160kW/275Nm electric motor, powered by a 65kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack.

The claimed range is 440km on the WLTP cycle.

DC fast charging works up to 120kW which okay rather than outstanding and Lepas claims 30 to 80 percent charging in 22 minutes at the maximum rate.

The official 0-100km/h sprint time is 7.9 seconds and Lepas reckons the battery – designed in-house – will work in a wide temperature rage between -35 and +60 degrees celsius.

It comes with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty with seven-years of service-activated roadside assistance. Seven years of capped price servicing is also on the table, with service intervals set every 12-months or 20,000km.

The battery warranty is eight-years or 200,000km, whichever occurs first.

The challenger brand is also looking to expand its portfolio in Australia with the launch of the smaller Lepas L4 EV expected in December 2026.
 
Lepas has also earmarked two other SUVs and a hatchback for the Australian market within 12 months.

It’s fair to say the 2026 Lepas L6 isn’t executed in a way that will make it stand out dramatically in the sea of electric vehicles currently on the road. It is, however, stylish and just different enough that your neighbours will be asking you what it is that you’ve just bought, if you value such recognition.

Both colours sampled at launch cut a bold figure in the carpark among a sea of black, silver, grey and white.

We like the ride quality, even on choppy road surfaces, with the quiet composure inside the cabin matched by the bump insulation and general seat comfort when you’re on the move.

It’s not quite a European sensation, but at the price point, you’ll feel like your money has been well spent.

The handling is directed more at the relaxed drive than it is white knuckle sprinting, but that’s exactly as it should be. Sport mode sharpens the experience up a bit, without making overtaking too sensitive.

Brake regen, even in it’s most enthusiastic setting, isn’t as aggressive as some rivals and while the L6 isn’t tremendously fast in the way some EVs are, it’s sharp enough, whether off the mark, or rolling on to overtake. It always feels as though there’s some extra power in reserve.

Accelerator pedal response is another positive too, even out of sport mode.

With ample room up front for driver and passenger, it’s a surprisingly roomy SUV in the second row, even with tall occupants up front. There’s also useful cargo capacity with 435 litres on offer with the second row in use, and a further 99L beneath the boot floor.

Thankfully for the 2026 Lepas L6 (and for potential buyers) there’s not a lot to dislike about the way the electric mid-size SUV behaves, certainly after our short test drive at launch.

A longer road trip is on the horizon to dig further into its regular behaviour. Into city peak hour, and then onto the open road though, its well behaved and composed.

We’d like more physical switches and dials to control the infotainment system for starters. It’s a minor gripe and it’s one that besets a lot of vehicles from challenger brands in search of their minimalist aesthetic.

While the concept works well in theory, it’s still easier - and safer - to reach for a physical button, dial or switch, to undertake the things that you tend to do often when behind the wheel.

Next up, we’d like to see some more fine-tuning of the ADAS systems. They work well enough and they aren’t offensively intrusive, but the lane keep specifically does tug at the wheel a little too much, especially when you’re on a less manicured country road.

It’s worth noting that Lepas has done a solid job of tuning out some of the annoyances we’ve noted with previous models at first experience.

Like a lot of EVs, you need to press the brake pedal firmly when you’re shifting from drive to reverse for example.

Lastly, the turning circle isn’t as tight as we’d like, especially when you’re negotiating congested city streets. We’re not suggesting that you’re behind the wheel of a B-Double, but given the exterior size, we’d like the L6 to spin a little tighter than it does, which would make a good thing even better to drive in town.

Most fascinating here is whether Aussie buyers are willing to look past two things – the challenger brand status of a new manufacturer and the asking price, which is higher than the Chinese competition.

However, look past that and you find an SUV with impressive standard inclusions, solid driving refinement and comfort at a price that is more attractive than the established competition.

Is it different enough to stand out in the crowd? Time will tell.

2026 Lepas L6 Signature at a glance:
Price: $47,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous electric motor/FWD
Output: 160kW/275Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 65kWh lithium-iron phosphate
Range: 440km (WLTP)
Energy Consumption: 17.5kWh/100km
Safety Rating: Not tested

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